in belgium on monday. germany ipp vided bell -- invaded belgium as part of an attack on france. 14 million died in the wore. thousands of communities were ravaged across europe. >> more news on the website aljazeera.com. >> it was one place you never forge figure you would have trouble getting water. toledo had the biggest supply of fresh water on the planet. it just wasn't drinkable. >> hello, i'm ray suarez. a metropolitan area of half a million people toledo, ohio, on

the western end of the lake erie couldn't use the water from the tap. an enormous algae bloom made the water from one of north america's great lakes unfit to drink. sizable metropolitan area fell back on bottled water for a time, an expensive and unsustainable solution. after scrambling for answers after a midsummer weekend people are being told they can't drink a drink, shower, wash dishes, eat at a restaurant. but can they do those things only until the next time algae fouls the water supply? that's our focus this time on the program. >> reporter: after spending a weekend under state of emergency half a million toledo residents were able to drink their tap water monday morning. >> all six tests with no problem whatsoever. >> reporter: toledo mayor michael collins said tests by

the ohio and national environmental protection agencies ruled that contamination in lake erie was no longer dangerous. levels of toxins the product of algae blooms reached dangerous levels over the weekend. when consumed in water these toxins can cause diarrhea, cometting, dizziness and liver damage. once it took affect local stores quickly ran out of bottled water. businesses were forced to close. direction centers stocked with truck loads of water across the state sprung up at high schools and fire departments. still the distribution centers could only provide so much help. each family was limited to one case of water a day. >> so what has been the biggest inconvenience for you? >> just drinking water. my kids, they cry even though they got asthma. all three of my kids have asthma. the doctor tell us we got to drink water every day.

>> reporter: a representative from the toledo health department called for action. >> the issue is a chronic issue, and we'll keep having it until we address the situation. that's what we have to do. we have to get the funds and resources in here to look at how we stop this. >> reporter: warnings came i in 2013 when a joint u.s. canadian commission called on farmers to reduce phosphorous applications. algae feeds off the phosphorous and fertilizer run off. as the shallowest of the great lakes lake erie is particularly susceptible to algae blooms. and toxic algae caused residents to go without water in 2011. it's all a growing concern for this major water supply system shared by the u.s. and canada. 84% of north america's surface

fresh water comes from the great lakes. it a spans 750 miles east to west and provides water for consumption, power, transportation. over 30 million people live in the great lakes basin and again are asking what can be done to keep the water their lives and livelihoods depend on safe. lake erie, the water and the metropolitan area warned not to use the water for days this time on "inside story." earlier this year west virginia couldn't drink the water. and once they were told it was all clear and wasn't sure that it was safe. and then meanwhile bakersfield california is shipping water around the state as the state is

in the worst drought tightens it's gripe. w grip. we have our guests. let me start with you, lana, what is the combination of circumstances that makes an algae bloom worse, better, more dangerous, less dangerous, what was the con flew wednesday of factors that led to the incident of the last several days? >> the primary factor of the most recent bloom that caused all the problem is the same as the primary factor as it has been in recent years. that's too much fertilizer that is put originally on to the ground, on to crops, but doesn't get absorbed by the land. it runs off, and instead of feeding the crops and the land scape, it

feeds thal guy blooms in lake erie. it's avoidable. it's understandable. the science is there. we know what to do. we need the political will to enforce policies that are consistent with the science. >> but it doesn't happen every year. was in a heavy rainfall year that caused more run off? was it warmer than it normally is in the western part of the lake? were there other factors feeding into this bloom. >> there are other factors. in this particular case it was the location of the bloom. that bloom was not the largest bloom that we've seen in recent years in lake erie. the largest bloom came in recent years came in 2011, 2012 it was down a little. 2013 we have not seen the whole season yet. we don't think it will be as big as 2011. but with the currents, it landed just right at the intake of the toledo water system.

when it moved off through, again, through the natural currents and wind the blooms are still there, but it's not in the same place so it's not causing the immediate concern. also, semiplumes are --some blooms don't create the toxins that others do. but we have factors that played in. we had heavy rainfall, fast, hard rainfall that would wash the phosphorous off the ground in large amounts. we have science that indicates that the invasive speeds sees have all contributed to the perfect storm. but the main thing that we can do something about is take away the fossfer rouse that comes from overfertilizing the crop land. there are some other things, too.

we do need to put more money back into the major water treatment plants. go back to the 70's when the lake was a mess. the main source of phosphorous then was that we didn't have good water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants. now the main source is the farming with a little bit coming from the other source. >> well, gary wilson, let me turn to you at this point. as lana pallack mentions, this was a crisis before, but for a long time the story of lake erie and the great lakes in general was that they were cleaner, healthier because of steps taken in the past through things like the international commission and the removal of the fos phosphates from the dish washing and clothes washing detergents.

which is it, is it healthier, cleaner, dirtier, what? >> i think people would say that progress has been made, but this is an ongoing progress. you don't just do the kind of project, clean up a problem and then let your guard down. the lakes are evolving. climate is changing. we have to be diligent every day. one of the interesting things that i took away from lana's description of this particular bloom was that it was its position. the wind happened to blow unfavorbly right towards the intake tanks. that reminds me a little bit of going to las vegas and playing the dice. we don't want to necessarily do that with our drinking water. it provides drinking water and basic sanitation, in this case for 500,000 people. that's what requires us to really dig in and take serious action.

we don't want to roll the dice with the drinking water. >> as you mention rolling the dice with the bloom moving away from the intake crib for the toledo metropolitan area was a matter of luck more than anything else. we could still have half a million people on bottled water, couldn't we? >> i think you're right, and we're not even towards the worst part of the season. going back to lana's point, 2011 was a record year. i believe there were over 1900 square miles affected by the bloom. that was a warning to us. that was out much control. the shots shot cross the bow was just an aways way from toledo where 2,000 people went without water for some period of time. same issue. 2,000 people, 400,000, just like

toledo, still that should have been a significant warning. this one we need to take heed to. >> we're going to take a short break and when we return we'll continue to talk about the health of the great lakes. it's one of the best sources of fresh water on planet earth. we should be watching its health. you're watching "inside story." stay with us.

>> welcome back to inside story on al jazeera america. we're looking at the water crisis in western ohio. toledo, one of the state's

largest cities, faced days of undrinkable water. we're talking about why this happened, and whether it will happen again either this summer or the summers to come. lana pallack, how shall we think of this, then. a natural event? a manmade event, a hybrid of the two? >> well, it is a hybrid of the two, but in this case human activities have caused, and human activities, of course, can prevent it in the future. it's a matter of following the science in the report that the international joint commission with whom i work we did a report that included a great deal of science, and we're a pretty conservative organization. yeah, we know what to do, only it's not our organization that needs to do it.

it's basically at the state level. the state of michigan and primarily the state of ohio would be the two states most involved in changing regulations or at least creating some regulations so that farmers were not allowed to spread fertilizer on the fields between march and let's say may. a lot of fertilizer gets spread before it's ready to be absorbed. then it's washed off. there is no law against it. there are a lot of farmers who are doing great farming, but they don't do it that way any more. it's all voluntary. the good prices, avoid the drinking water catastrophes that we see. bat practice years, they cause it. they know what to do. but someone has to make them do it. >> you say we know what to do, and someone has to make them do it.

is it a multi state and the multi national nature of the great lakes including the coast line of seller canadian provinces that make it complicated to require any kind of behavior on the waterfront and the water that drains into them? >> great question, and in this case the answer is no. in this case columbus ohio is where the decisions are made in ohio, and the people of toledo are on the receiving end of those decisions and lancing, michigan, are the--is the place where the decisions are made in michigan. and both those--they have rich farming areas. look, the farmers are an enormous part of the economy, there are a lot of issues, you've got mining issues and pipeline issues and any number of other issues that are on the

table that great lakes have an interest in. in this case the science is there. it's clear what needs to be done and it's clear who needs to do it. you change the federal law to do t but that doesn't seem very likely given washington but the last allow the states to take action. the laws would have to be changed to give the epa a lot more authority than they have right now. >> joining our discussion now from toledo, ohio, christine meyer, professor of ecologically at the university of toledo's lake erie center. welcome to the program. have you had a glass of water yet? >> i have, i have, good toledo tap water. >> was there any second thoughts when you opened up the tap? was there recommendation that

you let it run for a while? >> yes, there was. the city of toledo has posted information for people to tell them to let them let their taps run for a time and flush out the water and that the toxins have gotten out of the system. and hopefully every is getting that information. >> what is the threat and how does it get into the water. >> it's the chemical that blue-green algae, which are tiny, tiny organisms that live in fresh water, it's something that the algae cells produce. if you're a tiny algae cell there are things trying to eat you. so the algae produce this chemical as a defense. when the algae builds up, it's not truly an algae.

it's a kind of bacteria. when those cells build up in the water, when they break down they release the cells in the water. this is happening more and more frequently in the western basissen. we've had blooms of this stuff for the past several years. >> does lake erie, and do all the great lakes have a natural flush-out cycle where water is coming in from the western end of the lake and heading out through the eastern end of the lake? >> sure, it does but the problem in the western basissen we have very high levels of nutrients that are getting into the water primarily from agriculture and from some other sources. even though the water is moving through the great lakes and eventually the water from lake erie will go through lake

ontario and out the st. lawrence sea way there is always a fair ly level of nutrients in lake erie. that fossfer rouse is there to support these algae blooms. >> we got a statement from the fertilizer institute which said phosphorous is essential to grow crops, but if it is misused or overused we're not going to deny it's role in promoting algae growth. there is innovative practices farmers are undertaking to limit phosphorous loss from the soil. we support farmers to learn best practices for oh phosphorous run off for our certificated.org . it's a three-year program. this is voluntary. is it good enough, a voluntary program? >> i think the past few days have shown that voluntary is not enough.

i think atlanta from the igc talked about how this is a particular problem in areas such as ohio and michigan where there is a lot offing a agree culture. so the may my river, which is one of the biggest sources of nutrient for lake erie starts in indiana. here you have two states where agriculture is important, and what is in place right now are voluntary recommendations . we can't yell at farmers for following rules when we don't have rules. right now we have suggestions. that's probably not enough.

we're seeing the consequences of the amount of phosphorous getting into lake erie. >> is every effort to keep these phosphorous flows bound to keep them from these roadblocks? >> i think they are. i'm disappointed with the statement you just read from the phosphorous industry. it's a little bit defensive. something that will have to happen, when the dust settles, there will be discussions and meetings with politicians, we'll all be talking about it but the key players will have to get out of defensive mode, get out of talking points and entrenched positions and figure out what we need to do. i think there is clear indication that we're going to have to regulate farmers

activities. i don't know of any place where it has ever worked. chesapeake bay has been battling algae problems to for as long or longer than we have in this region in lake erie. we've got to get past thinking that that's still viable option. >> we'll take a quick break now and when we return we'll look at the algae bloom for lake erie and look ahead to coming summers. you're watching "inside story" stay with us. >> an american tonight investigative report >> i never would have thought this would happen to us >> athletes going for the gold >> i've had a lot of people ask me... why didn't you scream?... why didn't you yell?...kick... why didn't you go tell your mom? >> betrayed by those they believed in the most >> there's bad people out there in youth sports >> could this happen to your child? >> my sole purpose in coming forward, is to help change the

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>> we're here in the vortex. only on al jazeera america. >> you're watching inside story on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. we're covering the enormous algae bloom that fouled the

drinking water in the toledo area until today. lake erie has been put on watch before in the 1960's and 70's. the u.s. and canada did things to turn things around such as the clean water act. will toledo be facing a shut off again next summer? professor, if we have, as we have over this winter a lot of snow and a lot of ice cover, and then heavy rains that follow it in the spring, what does that mean for the ph, the receptiv ity of the lake for having blooms like this? >> the biggest factor that affects the blooms is the nutrient levels. that's largely set by how many precipitation occurs in the spring and early summer. so if there is a lot of rain we'll get a lot of nutrients in the lake. >> it's as simple as that, huh?

>> i would say so unless something dramatic changes about how much phosphorous is put on the water shed on the landscape that the rain hits. >> if summers get longer and warmer along the shores of lake erie does that complicate matters? >> most things grow faster when it's warm. the blue-green algae that is pluming also responds to temperature so that is an exaggerating factor. the warmer it gets the faster the algae may grow. >> lana pallack are the members of the commission taking into account that the climate in the northern united states and southern canadian may be in the middle of a change, and that may really change things along the great lakes? >> yes , the report we wrote

which is putting lake erie on a balanced diet is very much aware of the climate change impacts. that's the point. there are so many things we cannot control. we cannot control climate change in the short term. of course there were public policies that would make a long-term impact. we can't control the amount of rainfall. the one thing we can control is the application of fertilizer in inappropriate ways so that we'll fertilize lake erie instead of the corn siding crops. there are good farmers doing the right thing right now. there are some who do it the old fashioned way. just quickly, in decades ago we had the river that caught on fire. that was a signal for the clean water act and time to clean up the lakes.

500,000 people lost its water. not just drinking water, they couldn't bathe their kids. that should be a signal. we should take the science seriously. the science that has been put together, laid out very carefully, and the people in office in columbus as well as indiana as has been mentioned, and michigan, they should take action. >> along with the story from over the weekend from toledo are there other warning signs that things are not all well in the great lakes? >> one of the issues i've been focusing on is the amount of raw institutage and treated sewage that we dump in our waterways. one of the contributing factors contributing to lake erie is the sewage that comes out of the detroit river. collectively we collect

24,000 pounds of sewage. this is 2014. this shouldn't be happening. we should invest tremendous amount of money and infrastructure. what are we doing? still at this day and age dumping that much raw sewage into our waterways, into our drinking water. >> gary is a contributor to the great lakes. lana pallack, u.s. chair of joint commission, and thank you for joining us on "inside story." thanks for being with us. the program may be over but the conversation continues. we want to hear what you think about the issues raced on this or any day's show. you can log on to our facebook page. you can send us your thoughts on twitter. our handle is aj inside story am

or you can reach me directly at ray suarez news. from washington i'm ra ray suarez. "america tonight": our investin into sex abuse and sport. some of the nation's top junior athletes and why even the most protective parents may not be able to save them. >> i was the helicopter parent on the other side of the door. right there. i was working out in the gym. so you can be as helicopter as you want and still miss it. >> young athletes at the top of their game. could the u.s. olympic committee do more to protects them? also tonight, too much of a badly-needed thing.